Memories
by Sylence
Summary: Satty is apprehensive about seeing Riley again. After all, she hasn't spoken to him since highschool...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I just deleted this story and now I'm reposting it. I've made a few changes and corrected typos. I hope everyone likes it. Review and tell me what you think.**

Chapter 1

She was remembering how she used to make fun of him. She never meant it in a hurtful way. She teased everyone and he knew that. Every once in a while, he would take a jab at her too. She was proud of him whenever he did that. He was so shy and never opened up. She had spent most of highschool trying to get him to crack jokes and take part of the group. He said he didn't want to be labeled as part of a group. She said that wasn't what she meant.

&&&&&&&&&&

It was a sunny, humid day in Philadelphia. Saturnine waited at a table in Starbucks for her friend. They needed to discuss the website they were planning to put together. She didn't really want to take part, but her friend offered a page of her own to put her essays, poems, stories, and what ever else she wrote. If it weren't for that, Saturnine wouldn't be investing her money. Besides, it would give her something to do on those lonely Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights.

"Saturnine!" A tall red head swiftly walked up to the table Saturnine was sitting at. She bent down and gave the impatient girl a light hug. "I'm sorry I'm so late. I took the long way hoping to find some inspiration."

"Well, Libby, you were always the type to take the scenic route." Saturnine smiled at her winded friend.

"You used to also. Until you became a prude in college. What happened there? I never understood that particular change." Libby's query irked Saturnine. What did she mean 'that particular change'? Saturnine didn't change _that _much.

"I had to change. Can you imagine if I hadn't? I would have dropped out half way through the first quarter. They don't give refunds, you know. I wasn't about to waste my parents' money. They worked hard to give me my education."

"Alright Satty. Don't worry, I'm not angry at you. Let's just talk about the website."

Saturnine watched as Libby took out the plans for the website. Her mind started to wander back to the days where she could crack a joke in any situation. Days when she was really happy, not the artificial happiness that she feels everyday. She tried to recall the feeling of bliss but it slipped through her fingers like a fine silk.

"Satty?" Libby said softly. "Are you alright?"

Saturnine looked at Libby. Her best friend since high school and she couldn't accurately describe what she was thinking. "Just taking a stroll down Memory Lane" Saturnine replied. "Let's just get this over with so I can go home."

&&&&&&&&&&

Saturnine got home to a mess left by her new puppy. A 3 month old blue merle collie, Skip wasn't quite house trained.

"Well boy, I should clean this up before the landlord smells it." Saturnine started to clean up the mess left by Skip and had just finished when her phone rang.

"Hello?" Saturnine didn't usually answer her phone, but she knew without looking that it was Libby. 'Probably wants to talk about the website' Saturnine thought. She was greeted by an excited voice.

"Satty, turn on the news right now." Saturnine did what she was told and sat down on her couch. Skip jumped up on her lap. "Are you watching it?" Libby asked.

"Yes. What am I supposed to be looking for?" Saturnine asked. Before she got an answer, the news anchor came on.

"Hello. I'm here with Benjamin Gates, the discoverer of a gigantic ancient treasure. Mr. Gates, you're family has been searching for this treasure for generations. How does it feel to be the one to discover it?"

"Well, my entire family deserves credit, as well as Ms. Abigail Chase and my friend Riley Poole. Every one contributed. I couldn't claim all the credit."

The reporter continued his interview. "What are you going to do with all the artifacts?"

"We're dividing it between several museums such as the Smithsonian, Cairo Museum, The Louvre, and the British Museum."

"And are you going to keep any of the profit?" the reporter queried.

"Ms. Chase and I are sharing 2 percent and Mr. Poole is getting 1percent."

"Thank you Mr. Gates and congratulations on your find. Be sure to tune in on Friday for an in depth interview with Mr. Gates." The reporter concluded.

The news continued and Libby started to talk again. "Well?"

Saturnine feigned ignorance. "Well what? It's great that an enormous treasure was found."

Libby sounded almost indignant. "What about Riley?"

"Riley who?"

"Riley Poole! He hung out with us in highschool! I know you remember him! Don't play stupid!" Saturnine smiled. She remembered Riley, she just didn't want to admit.

"Hey! I have an idea," Libby said. "Let's go to the opening of the exhibit in the Smithsonian."

Saturnine thought about this. It was a cool idea and she would like to go. " Doesn't that require an invitation?" She could hear the grin in Libby's voice.

"I already got that covered."

"How did _you_ get a ticket?" Saturnine cried.

"I donate monthly to the museum. They probably felt obliged to send me one." She paused. "It's good for one guest, if you want to go."

"Hell yes!" Saturnine screamed with uncharacteristic excitement.

"Great! I'll pick you up at 10 tomorrow to go dress shopping!" Libby hung up and Saturnine put the receiver down.

She was thrilled to see this exhibit before the public. She couldn't wait to see what this Gates guy had discovered. And, on top of all that, she was getting a new dress.

Saturnine's stomach suddenly dropped. She had to see Riley again. She hadn't seen him since graduation day and she hadn't spoken to him on the phone since the summer after highschool ended.

"Oh shit."

&&&&&&&&&&

**E/N: Well, there's chapter one. What did you think? I have chapters two and three written, so it won't take long to post. I'm getting inspiration for chapter four so hopefully that'll be up soon too. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Yeah. I'm putting up chapter two because I have nothing better to do.I plan to write chapter four sometime this week and (hopefully) have three and four posted by the end of next week. **

Chapter 2

Saturnine was sitting at her kitchen table reading the newspaper when Libby arrived. They had an omelette brunch before going to buy dresses. They had two weeks before the opening of the exhibit, but they wanted to get the dress problem out of the way.

"How about this one?" Libby held up a bright neon pink prom dress and gave Saturnine a goofy smile.

"That's exactly what I was looking for!" said Saturnine in such a convincing tone that Libby thought for a moment she was serious. They both started to giggle at the ridiculous joke. Saturnine was relieved to be able to joke around. It took her mind away from the inevitable encounter with Riley. She wasn't nervous, but she had an indescribable feeling in the pit of her stomach that was reminiscent of apprehension.

Saturnine heard a triumphant laugh from the next rack over. "Did you find that fluorescent green dress you were looking for?" Saturnine joked. Her smile fell when Libby walked up with an elegant black dress. Saturnine was stunned. She couldn't possibly wear that. It was unthinkable. It wouldn't do anything for her. She voiced her concerns to Libby.

"Nonsense," Libby scoffed. "Get into the dressing room and try it on." She shoved Saturnine into the dressing room and tossed the dress in after her. She then shut the door and sat down on the waiting bench. Libby was looking at the price of a purse that was on a stand next to her when Saturnine appeared from the dressing room. "Perfect," she said upon seeing Saturnine.

Saturnine turned and looked at herself in the mirror on the outside of the door. The dress sloped down in the front showing off much of her chest, but not enough to look tasteless. The straps were rolled fabric continued from the front and the back scooped slightly. It flowed down to her ankles. She looked very much like a Greek goddess clad in black.

"You look gorgeous Satty." Libby was staring at Saturnine, trying to believe that this was her friend from adolescence. Saturnine, however, had different thoughts.

"It doesn't look right on me. On someone else it would look great, but I have nothing to show." Her small chest was hardly noticeable in the blouses she wore almost every day, but in this dress, though she did not see it, her bust was prominent. Libby was not fooled by Saturnine's insecurity.

"Satty, you look amazing in that dress. And you're going to get it. There's no reason why you shouldn't get it. It flatters every one of your curves and your breasts look great." Saturnine let out an all too audible scoff. Libby was not phased. "And you look like a princess. There's nothing stopping you."

"How about price?" Saturnine said looking down at the price tag. "350 dollars was a bit more than I planned to spend."

"I'll help you pay for it." Saturnine began to protest, but Libby kept talking. "You need that dress. You must have it and I will make sure you get it." She wouldn't allow for any argument. Within five minutes, Saturnine was out of the dress and at the cash register with Libby, paying for their dresses. Saturnine had her 350 dollars of elegance and Libby had a 200 hundred-dollar red knee high dress. Libby dropped Saturnine off at her apartment and drove off. Saturnine walked upstairs and entered her home. She hung her dress up in her bedroom and went to make dinner (a TV meal of lasagna). She poured a cup of puppy food in a bowl for Skip and sat down at her television with her meal and popped in My Best Friend's Wedding.

&&&&&&&&&

A week later Libby called Saturnine, inviting her to lunch. Saturnine declined saying she had a job interview.

"A job interview?" said Libby. "Why are you going to a job interview?"

"Because I need to pay the rent, and to pay the rent I need money, and to get money I need a job, and to get a job I have to go to a job interview." Saturnine didn't want to get angry with Libby, but it was hard not to. She also found it hard to not be bitter and resentful toward Libby. But Saturnine found it very easy to be envious of her. Libby came from a wealthy family and never had to worry about paying rent or buying food. Saturnine had to buy food for herself and her dog and pay for rent, heat, electricity, water, and her car.

Libby was oblivious to Saturnine's financial problems and was upset that she couldn't go to lunch with her. "How about dinner then?" Libby asked.

"Fine. Can you pick me up? I'm having car trouble again." They arranged a pick up time of seven o'clock and hung up.

&&&&&&&&&&

Libby pulled up to her best friend's apartment and called her cell phone to notify her that she had arrived. In a couple of minutes Saturnine appeared at the car door. She was wearing jeans, a button up blouse, and a pair of Skechers sneakers. She got into the car and buckled up just as Libby pulled away from the curb.

"How did the interview go?" Libby asked.

"Fine," Saturnine responded. "I think I may have gotten the job." The interview had gone well. Saturnine had walked in and greeted the interviewer with a friendly smile and firm handshake, just like everyone teaches in a life skills class. She and the interviewer got along very well and had a nice conversation after the interview was over. On top of all that, Saturnine was more than qualified for the job. It was only answering calls and recording orders. Saturnine, a college graduate, could easily handle that.

"What's the job?" Libby asked.

"It's a make up company. All I would have to do is answer calls and take orders from clients." Saturnine really just wanted to get to the restaurant and have dinner. She feels fine talking over a meal, but prefers silence in the car. But she knew that was impossible with Libby. They had taken a road trip after highschool to Oregon and Libby had talked through the entire drive. Except when she was sleeping, but even then she had talked a bit.

One thing that never ceased to amaze Saturnine was Libby's ability to read her like an open book. "You don't need to be nervous about seeing him." Saturnine turned and stared at Libby in astonishment. "He'll be glad to see you and you'll be glad to see him and you'll both start talking like you did in highschool."

"I'm not nervous," Saturnine stubbornly replied. She got a roll of the eyes as a response.

"I can see right through you. You've had that brooding look on your face since the day we went dress shopping. You have nothing to worry about." Fortunately for Saturnine, Libby was uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of the drive. When they arrived at the restaurant they were seated and immediately served. Libby and Saturnine ordered fettuccine alfredo to share and Libby pressed the topic of Riley upon Saturnine.

"I'm not nervous. I'm just apprehensive." Saturnine was failing miserably to hide the truth.

"It's the same thing. Besides, with the dress you're wearing he'll be the nervous one." Saturnine looked at Libby. There was a look in the latter's eyes that Satty knew all too well.

"You cannot seriously expect him to take one look at me and fall in love." A manic grin spread across Libby's face. "Libby! I can't believe you!"

"Well you haven't gotten any in years!" Saturnine turned a bright red.

"My sex life is none of your business," Saturnine whispered.

"I've made it my business. You know that sex can actually make you healthier. Minus the STDs of course. But it can help you emotionally." Libby had turned serious, but there was still a gleam in her eye.

"It'll only help if you love the person you're screwing!" Saturnine's voice had dropped to a harsh whisper.

Libby's response was casual. "You don't need to worry about that. You two will fall madly in love and then you will have a happy, healthy sex life."

The waiter brought their food right after Libby had finished speaking. Libby started to eat immediately, but Saturnine just groaned and buried her face in her napkin.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sound of retching greeted Libby as she opened the door of Saturnine's apartment. Skip ran up and started to jump on her, but she gently pushed him down and hurried toward the bathroom. When she got to the door she saw Saturnine hunched over the toilet.

"Jesus Satty. What did you eat?" Libby bent down and began to rub her friend's back. "We have three days until the exhibit. Are you going to be okay for that?"

Saturnine spit into the toilet bowl and flushed before she answered. "I think I'll be okay. Something just didn't agree with me. I'll be fine."

Saturnine stood up. Libby stood up with her and went out to the kitchen to make a pot of tea. She knew that it would make Saturnine feel better. After a moment of thinking whether she should give Saturnine food, she decided to make a piece of dry toast. Libby had put the bread in the toaster just as Saturnine was coming out of the bathroom. Looking up, Libby noticed she looked pale.

"You should really cut back on those sardines," Libby joked. Saturnine's least favorite food was sardines. She gagged just at the smell of them.

"Oh, ha ha," Saturnine responded dryly.

There was a short pause as Saturnine sat down at the small round table. What she said caught Libby off guard.

"Did you know I used to like him?" Libby gave her a questioning look. "Riley. I used to like him in highschool."

"No way!" Libby squealed. "For how long?"

"Well, ninth through eleventh he was just my best guy friend. In senior year he just sort of... I don't know...Blossomed?" Saturnine gave a weak laugh. "That makes him sound like a girl whose lost her virginity." She sighed. "What in God's name am I going to say to him?"

Libby walked over to the table and sat down next to Saturnine and got back up immediately to tend the whistling kettle. "When you see him every thing will come naturally. You won't have a single worry. Unless, of course, he can't take his eyes off your boobs." Saturnine gave another small laugh just as the toast popped. Libby put the toast on a napkin, took it over to Saturnine, and finished making tea. "You do look marvelous in that dress, you know." Saturnine smiled. They both sat there enjoying the silence and calm. After a few minutes Libby said, "The tea should be set now. Let's have a cup or two."

"Or three," Saturnine chimed in.

&&&&&&&&&&

Saturnine was awakened by a soft whining at the foot of her bed. Looking up, she saw Skip sitting halfway between her bed and the door to the hall. He quickly got up and rushed to her and she sat up to escape the incessant licking that was sure to come. Groggily, Saturnine got up, put on some shoes, grabbed Skip's leash, and took the poor dog outside.

Saturnine wished she had grabbed a jacket before leaving. It may have been summer, but Philadelphia can still be rather chilly at five thirty-seven in the morning. She looked down to see Skip finish peeing. He began sniffing at a pile of another dog's poop when she pulled the leash.

"Do you want heart worms?" she asked him. She waited a while longer and when it was clear that he was going to do no more, she and Skip went back up to her apartment. When they reached their home, Saturnine let Skip off his leash and went to make a pot of coffee. She turned on the TV just in time to catch the last few minutes of the early morning news.

"And tonight is the night that historians and museum officials have been waiting for." Saturnine's attention was fully directed at the screen. "Tonight will be the private showing of Benjamin Gates's treasure, which he discovered with the help of colleagues Abigail Chase and Riley Poole."

"Colleagues?" Saturnine mused aloud. "Riley was never a history buff. He was always into computers." She let herself wonder about how Riley helped Benjamin Gates while she went to finish preparing her coffee.

"Well," she thought, "at least I'll have _one_ thing to talk to Riley about."

* * *

**E/N: I finished writing chapter 4 in my notebook today. I just need to edit it and I'll have it up soon! I hope you enjoyed chapter 3!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Sorry it took a while to update. I was working on it for a while and then I had a project due that was worth most of my grade and I have testing coming up, so I thought I should post this chapter. I'm working on chapter 5 right now, so hopefully it'll be up soon. **

Chapter 4

Saturnine jerked awake at the sound of the phone ringing, knocking over her unfinished cup of coffee.

"Crap," she mumbled, scrambling to get the phone.

"Hello?" she said tersely.

"You're sounding very chipper this morning," a sarcastic voice said into her ear. Saturnine sighed.

"Sorry Libby. I knocked over a cup of coffee and it's all over the floor." She went to the kitchen and got a few paper towels to clean up the mess. Libby started talking about plans to get ready.

"I was thinking I could come over around noon. We'll both need help with our hair and I can help you with your make up." Libby sighed. "Poor thing can't blend to save her life."

Saturnine snorted. "Noon is fine. I'll ask my neighbor to watch Skip for the day."

"Great! I'll see you around noon then."

"See ya." Saturnine put down the receiver, took a calming breath, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

Saturnine gave a startled look at her door when she heard a crash in the hall. A smile crept across her face when she heard the familiar swears of Libby. Opening her door, Saturnine leaned against the frame and grinned down at her friend.

"Drop something?" she asked, taking in the make up and hair products thrown across the floor. Libby growled in response. "Relax Libby. We have hours. There's plenty of time."

"We do _not_ have plenty of time," Libby snarled. "The exhibit opens at six and it's twelve-thirty now."

"Do you remember prom?" Saturnine asked. "We both got ready in two hours." Libby stood up.

"This is a little more important than prom, Satty." Saturnine smiled.

"You're absolutely right. We'd better hurry up before our five and a half hours run out." Libby scowled, but followed Saturnine into her apartment in silence.

It was four-thirty when Saturnine started feeling sick. She had noticeably paled and was shaking. Libby took one look and put her arm around her friend's shoulders.

"Nervous?" A quick jerk of Saturnine's head was her answer. "Just breathe," Libby said reassuringly. "Everything will be fine. You'll walk into the party and every set of eyes will turn your way. Riley, who of course, will be curious as to why everyone's attention has shifted will turn and see you walking through the doors positively glowing with beauty."

"You have this all planned out, huh?" Saturnine laughed nervously.

"Of course I do. I plan everything." Libby answered in a self-assured voice. "Now, get your wrap and purse and let's go."

In a few minutes time, the girls were walking out of the apartment building to Libby's BMW. They got in and began the hour-long journey to Washington, DC, the Smithsonian, and Riley Poole.

Libby was walking at a brisk pace with Saturnine struggling to keep up. From her position behind her, Saturnine could hear Libby muttering obscenities about traffic and VIP parking.

"Plenty of time, hmm?" she shot back at her lagging friend.

"I didn't know traffic would be so bad. Besides, we'll be arriving fashionably late." Libby stopped and turned so suddenly that Saturnine nearly broke a heel trying to stop from running into her friend.

"This is not the sort of thing that you arrive fashionably late to. This isn't some college frat party!"

"Libby," Saturnine said. "No one is going to notice us walking in late. We're not important enough." She stopped and looked across the street. "Look. People are still arriving. It's not just us."

Libby relaxed and linked her arm with Saturnine's. The two of them walked on in silence until they reached the entrance. Libby pulled out the invitations and showed them to the guard at the door. After being waved in, Saturnine and Libby entered a room so filled with history that even Libby (who had never done well in the subject) had to remind herself to breathe.

"Look at it," she whispered to Saturnine. "There's so much of it."

Saturnine couldn't answer. She knew this was only a small fraction of the treasure, but it was amazing. She and Libby began to explore the exhibit. There were statues from various empires, Greek pottery, amulets from ancient Egypt, and other artifacts that they didn't recognize. Both of the women marveled at how well preserved the artifacts were.

They came across a statue of an Egyptian man. He was bluish-green in color and had a rectangular object protruding from his chin. There was a group surrounding the statue discussing the oddity on his face. They all had different opinions and all of them were wrong.

"It's a sign of power," Saturnine cut in. "Pharaohs wore them as a sign of royalty."

A man in a crisp black suit with a balding head said in a condescending voice, "I think you'll find that most upper class males wore them."

"No," she returned. "Only pharaohs. Even the woman pharaoh, Queen Hatshepsut, had one."

A sneer appeared on the man's face. "How did a woman grow a beard?" he asked.

"She didn't. Neither did the men. The ancient Egyptians believed that hair was unclean, so the upper class shaved their entire bodies. Even the men." The man scowled and walked away with his friends. Saturnine turned to Libby, but found that she wasn't there.

"So that's what it is," said a voice behind her. She turned and found herself looking up into the face of Benjamin Gates. "Riley will be interested to know," he continued. "He's been curious about it since finding it, but he's too lazy to do an Internet search." He extended his hand and said, "I'm Ben Gates." Saturnine took his hand.

"Saturnine Mills."

"Saturnine? That's an interesting name. Means something like melancholy, right?" He looked down at her with a look of interest in his eyes.

"Yeah," she responded. "I was lucky enough to be born to a depressed beat-knick mother."

"Must have been difficult growing up with a depressed parent," Ben said.

"Not really. She got better as I got older. By the time I was a teenager she was almost normal. Almost." Saturnine smiled up at him. "But you're not really interested in any of that."

"I would disagree," Ben said.

"You couldn't possibly be too interested because _I'm_ not that interested."

"Well, I know for sure that one person will be interested in what you know about this statue, so I'll go get him. Would you mind waiting here for a few minutes?" Saturnine shook her head and Ben walked away. As she watched his retreating back, Saturnine's stomach dropped. She wasn't quite ready to see Riley yet and began twiddling her thumbs in an attempt to calm herself down. It didn't work and when she heard his voice, she was ready to run to the exit.

"It's great that you're introducing me to a girl, but wouldn't it have been easier to tell me yourself?" Saturnine turned her head to the left and saw him. He looked short walking beside Ben, the latter being a head taller, but he looked the same from high school. He had the same mop of dark hair, the same striking blue eyes, and the same sarcastic voice that made it self known in almost every word that escaped his mouth.

As the two men approached, she turned her back to them and faced the statue. The footsteps stopped behind her and Riley's voice rang out, "So, what is the goatee thing?" Saturnine's stomach twisted uncomfortably, but her voice was steady when she spoke.

"It's a sign of power. Only pharaohs wore them."

"It's a weird way to grow facial hair," Riley said.

"Well, they didn't grow it. They sort of glued it there." Saturnine stopped. "I think. I can't really remember." A silence followed that made Saturnine shift uncomfortably. It took Ben a while to introduce her to Riley.

"Riley, this is Saturnine. Saturnine, this is Riley."

She turned and took Riley's outstretched hand. He had an expression of mild surprise. Saturnine smiled at him and Ben excused himself saying that the two younger people should get "better acquainted". Riley had not dropped his surprised expression nor had he dropped Saturnine's hand. The latter could feel herself begin to blush.

"Hi Riley," she said. He seemed to be snapped out of his reverie. He let go of her hand and cleared his throat.

"Um." Riley couldn't seem to think of anything to say. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked at her. "How have you been?" he finally asked.

"I've been fine. Nothing interesting has happened since I last saw you-"

"Eight years ago," he finished. "Eight years and nothing's happened?" Saturnine smiled.

"Well, nothing amazing. I graduated from college with a Bachelor's in British Literature." She paused and thought. "I just went to a job interview a few days ago. You know, normal stuff."

"Did you ever go to France?" he asked

"Yeah. I spent six months there after college."

A grin spread across his face. "So you speak French?" Saturnine nodded. "Speak it," he commanded.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because you didn't say please."

Riley smiled and rolled his eyes. "That's right," he said. "I'd forgotten that you were always into doing the polite thing."

The conversation became more relaxed after that. They talked about high school and the colleges they had gone to. They talked about music and movies they'd seen recently.

"There's talk about selling the film rights," Riley said. "I doubt Ben will let Hollywood get a hold of it, but it might be cool."

"And who would play you?" Saturnine asked. Riley suddenly looked very deep in thought.

"He would have to be handsome, witty, a strong character…"

"A bit bow-legged with a slightly over large nose." Saturnine laughed at the look on Riley's face. His lips had pursed and he had one eyebrow raised.

"And who would play you if they filmed this part?" he asked sourly. "She would have to be hobbit size with a small chest and a high, annoying voice."

"You don't mean that," Saturnine said smiling. Riley's expression remained indignant, but he suddenly relaxed and sighed.

"You're right. They'd have to get a model to play you." For the first time that night, he looked at her from head to toe. "You look gorgeous, Satty. That dress is neat. You look like one of the girls on the Greek pots."

Saturnine laughed. "Thanks. Libby helped pick it out." Riley's eyebrows shot up.

"Libby?" he asked. "I remember her. She was insane. You still talk to her?"

"Yeah. She's here somewhere." She waved her hand to emphasize that she meant the party.

"She's here? Seriously?" Saturnine nodded, confused. "We have to find her," he said as he grabbed Saturnine's hand. They wandered around for a while until they found Libby talking to a young man by the Greek portion of the exhibit. Riley dragged Saturnine up to Libby and said to the man, "Move it, dork." The man grumbled and left the three of them alone.

"What's the idea, jerk? I was talking to him."

"Still flirting with complete strangers Libby? You haven't changed a bit."

Libby looked at him. "Riley?" she asked. He nodded and grinned at her. "Oh my God! Riley!" she squealed and pulled him into a hug. As he wrapped his arms around Libby, Saturnine felt a twinge in her stomach.

"How have you been?" Libby asked and she and Riley launched into a conversation. Saturnine was left standing alone, feeling awkward. She decided to leave her two friends and walk around the exhibit. This proved to be a mistake, as she was wearing three-inch straps. By the time she was half way around the exhibit, her feet were numb with pain.

"You look thoroughly miserable," a voice said from behind her. She turned and saw Ben Gates smiling down at her. "Not enjoying yourself?"

"I'm tired and my feet hurt." Ben nodded.

"I think I can fix that. Follow me." He led to a small room in the back of the exhibit. It was no more special than the other room, but it still had the air of being a private gathering.

"This is the VIP room," Ben said to her. "It really not any different from the general room, but it has more expensive food."

"Is that the only difference?" Saturnine asked.

"Pretty much," Ben replied. "Come on. There are some nice chairs in here that you can rest on."

Saturnine spent the rest of the night talking to Ben, eating more expensive food, and sitting on a comfortable chair.

**E/N: Sorry if there are any mistakes. I was tired while typing this and I was afraid that if I didn't post it soon, I never would have. Review and tell me what you thought! **


End file.
